Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the importance of early intervention financial education at a primary school level; and if he will make a statement.

It is important that pupils are well prepared to manage their money, make sound financial decisions, and know where to seek further information, if required. In 2014, for the first time, financial literacy was made statutory within the National Curriculum as part of the citizenship curriculum for 11 to 16 year olds.

The Department has introduced a rigorous Mathematics curriculum, which provides pupils with the knowledge and skills to make important financial decisions. The Department has also published statutory programmes of study for Mathematics and citizenship that outline what pupils should learn about financial education from Key Stages One to Four.

In the primary Mathematics curriculum, there is a strong emphasis on the arithmetical knowledge that pupils should have. This knowledge is vital, as a strong understanding of numeracy will underpin pupils’ ability to manage budgets and money. There is also some specific content about financial education, including calculations with money.

The Department does not monitor or assess the resources that schools use and we trust schools to use their professional judgement and understanding of their pupils to develop the right teaching approach for their particular school, drawing on the expertise of subject associations. The Department will continue to work closely with the Money and Pensions Service and other stakeholders such as Her Majesty’s Treasury, to consider what can be learned from other sector initiatives and whether there is scope to provide further support for the teaching of financial education in schools.

Schools are doing their best to ensure pupils continue to be taught a wide range of subjects so that they can maintain their choices for further study and employment. The Department’s latest guidance on teaching during the COVID-19 outbreak is set out here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/actions-for-schools-during-the-coronavirus-outbreak.